


What We Do With The Shadows

by AsagiStilinski



Series: Zine Promos [8]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Character Study, Kaiba Seto Has Issues, M/M, Magic, Magic-Users, Polyamory, Resurrection, Self-Indulgent, Shadow magic, Yami Yuugi | Atem Has His Own Body, zine promo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-05-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24195715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagiStilinski/pseuds/AsagiStilinski
Summary: As it so happens, Atem isn't the only one with shadow magic anymoreOr: Three people who deal with their magic in different ways, and what happens when Atem comes back from the dead
Relationships: Atem/Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler, Atem/Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi, Atem/Kaiba Seto, Atem/Kaiba Seto/Mutou Yuugi, Atem/Mutou Yuugi, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Kaiba Seto, Jounouchi Katsuya | Joey Wheeler/Mutou Yuugi, Kaiba Seto/Yami Yuugi
Series: Zine Promos [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1551694
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38





	What We Do With The Shadows

**Author's Note:**

> And another promo for Hocus Pocus <3 https://ygomagiczine.tumblr.com/ I admit that this one went off the rails a little ^^;
> 
> Honestly I just really wanted to write about my headcanon about Joey and Kujo

The irony was, he had always wanted a dog

Ever since he was a child, he had hoped that one day he would get a dog

He used to ask for a puppy every birthday, until he was old enough to realize that it would never happen

Now, however, he had gotten his wish, in some strange way that he couldn't quite process

He had a dog who would never leave him, for as long as he lived

And it was strange, it was very strange, and it came from such a dark place, such a horrible place, months had passed but he still didn't quite know how to deal with it

To think that dying and coming back to life _wasn't_ the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him

No, it was far from the weirdest, in retrospect

When he woke from that coma, he thought everything would go back to normal, how wrong he had been

He had started noticing almost immediately that something wasn't right, but the first... _incident_... didn't happen until a month later

His father had been on another binge, Joey's face hurt from where the older man's fist had collided with it, and his ribs ached from where his father's foot had just been, and as he gripped at the carpet, and blood dripped from his nose, he wished for something to save him, he prayed forth a savior that he knew wouldn't come, because it never came, because in all these years of wishes and prayers, it never had

But he still wished

And he still prayed

And something dark had answered him

He felt his stomach lurch, like he was going to throw up, for just a breif moment, before the screams started

When he lifted his head to look up, he watched as a massive black dog, wispy and almost in-corporal, stepped away from his father's body, wich lay twitching and groaning on the ground

The dog's eyes were red, but Joey didn't fear it

He sensed nothing but safety as he reached forward and, with only minor hesitance, cupped his hand under the dog's chin

The shadows were cold against his skin, but he couldn't bring himself to mind

He leaned forward and pressed their heads together, and he knew

The "dog" was part of him

The _shadows_ were part of him

Whatever had happened to him when he died, it had changed him

And now.....

"Kujo," he said quietly, staring at the shadow dog as he pulled back

"I'm gonna call you Kujo,"

And Kujo was a good dog, a loyal dog, who was always there when Joey needed him and always did what Joey wanted him to do

And even though he wasn't a _real_ dog, even though Joey knew that Kujo was, in reality, just a part of himself, just a manifestation of his own powers, things somehow felt less lonely with Kujo around

On nights like these, when it was so _easy_ to feel lonely, so easy to let the loneliness eat at him, he held Kujo close and pretended that he had more than himself for company

Carding his fingers through the shadow, he pulled away, leaning back on the couch and biting into his pizza

Living on his own was nice as it kept him away from his father, but the loneliness had a tendency to eat at him...

"I wonder if you can eat..." he mused, not for the first time, as he pulled a peice of pepperoni off of his pizza, intending to offer it to the shadow-dog, but before he could get the chance, Kujo's ears suddenly perked up and he raced to the apartment door, standing there like a guard dog

....

Or like an omen

"Somethin' up pal?" Joey frowned, sliding off of the couch and making his way over to him

The dog growled at the door, pawed at it, and Joey knew something was wrong

Pursing his lips, he grabbed his helmet from the rack by the door and strapped it on before grabbing his jacket

"Alright buddy, lead the way,"

With that, he stepped out of the apartment and headed down to his motorcycle

If Kujo was trying to get his attention, then it must be for something important, and Joey definitely wasn't stupid enough to ignore him

~+~

"DAMMIT!"

Seto heaved a low, shaking breath, his fingers pushing up through his dark hair as he stared down at the tablet screen in front of him

Why had this happened to him?

Was he too ambitious? Too powerfull? Too smart?

Hmph, no such thing...

He pushed away from the desk and turned towards the window, his hands resting on the sill as he stared out at the clear night sky, eyes narrowed

He wanted to get past this

He wanted to get through the frustration and the creator's block and everything else that was holding him back from getting what he wanted, but...

A wisp of anger shot through him, and a jolt of shadow energy left his fingertips, forcing him backwards as he sneered at it, turning on his heel and gripping at his hair again, slowly sliding down against the wall beside the window

Shadow magic.....

Shadow magic was _real_

And shadow magic was part of him

It had infected him like a virus, worming it's way through his veins until it was infused with his blood and he had no choice left but to acknowledge it

He had spent the last several years avoiding the possibility of magic, denying it until he was practically a robot with the way he chanted back the same responses, and now he was forced to deal with the undeniable truth that magic was real, and it was part of him

He had tried so hard to live his life by facts, to eliminate uncertainties, to make his world more comfortable by controlling it, by reigning power over it and learning to control what he couldn't already control by nature, he depended on technology for that very reason, because it offered him the control and the certainty that nature never could

But atleast nature lived by certain laws

That wasn't true for magic

And now....

How ironic that he had been infected by the thing he hated via the thing he loved

He had used technology to build the DDS, used that technology to bring Atem back the first time, to go into the afterlife and argue with him over and over again about coming back, and at some point during that arguing, he had begun to change

He couldn't pinpoint it if he tried, when exactly the magic had infused it's self into his veins

Atem claimed that it was because no being was meant to travel between realms the way Seto did, that the shadows clung to him because he was ripping apart his soul more and more with each visit, and the shadows were only trying to repair the damage

Seto had brushed off his concerns, but now, as he stared at his office, at the computer he had shorted out and the couch he had singed, at the damage that his electric-like shadows had inflicted on everything around him, he was forced to believe the impossible

He stared down at his hands, his expression grim, and he wondered

Would he have to live with this the rest of his life?

Was he really changed forever now?

Could technology fix this?

Could technology really fight magic?

Maybe.....

But suddenly all of Seto's certainties were unsure

The door suddenly swung open, and Seto sprang to his feet as though he had been zapped with electricity, an angry look on his face as magic charged through him, the trash basket in the corner being shot with a blast of black energy as a familiar blonde face locked eyes with his own

"What do you want?" he grumbled, his eyes suddenly flicking down to the dog by Joey's side

Ah yes, the _other_ ugly byproduct of fucking _shadow magic_

Seto had tried, when he first saw the "dog", to insist that it was a real, living, breathing, dog, not magic at all

...

Until the goddamn thing had shapeshifted into a massive tentacle of magic that ripped his breifcase away from him and presented it to Joey like a fetched toy

"Kujo brought me, somethin' stinks an' I guess he picked up on it,"

"I cannot believe you named and gendered that thing," Seto grumbled to himself as he moved to stand in front of his desk, arms crossed over his chest

"And if you have a problem with the way something smells, there's a wet dog that just traipsed in here you may want to look at,"

"Not a _literal_ stink, I dunno what's up with 'im, everything was fine 'till he started pawin' at the door, I just followed,"

"If he's pawing at the door then maybe what you should be considering is a nice tree, not my office-.. great, now _I'm_ saying it... who let you in anyway?"

"Mokuba, he's a real nice kid ya' know,"

Yes, a far _too_ nice kid who Seto was going to have to remind once again to stop letting people into his office-

"An' I know better than to ignore Kujo when he wants somethin', there's usually a good reason for it, so.... this place looks like a tornado has been through it, ya' notice anythin' weird goin' on here?"

"Wouldn't I have already called Dork Busters if I had?" Seto grumbled back

"Mmmm I dunno.... that's a good question, since Atem left, ya' haven't really paid much attention to us, not that I'm complainin' but..."

Seto only huffed, shifting uncomfortably and looking away

"There's nothing here for you to investigate so you can leave now,"

As if to directly contradict him, Kujo trotted up to Seto and nudged at his hand, wich was just freaky enough for Seto to jerk his hand back and a spark of magic to shoot out of it

He noticed his mistake the moment it was made, the look on Joey's face was more than enough to call it to attention

Dammit....

He hadn't exactly told anyone about this shit, even Atem he hadn't exactly _told_ , the former king had merely _noticed_ it

"You.... you've got magic too?" Joey asked quietly, taking a slow step forward

Seto wanted to run, he wanted to back away, even though he had always been taught not to display any weaknesses, he still wanted to be away from this situation as quickly as possible

But there was nowhere to go, boxed in by his own design

He gritted his teeth, his heart jumping and his body tensing

"What business is it of your's if I do?"

All of a sudden, the blonde's expression faded from stunned, to sympathetic

And Seto hated it

He wanted to get rid of it

He wanted to slap it off of Joey's face

"I... know what it feels like, ya' know," Joey noted as he slowly walked forward, still with that same damn pitying expression

"Bein' alone, with this weird shit I mean, but.... you're not alone Kaiba, I know it may feel like that but-"

"Is this your attempt at giving me another invitation into your little nerd herd? Because I still don't want it," Seto snapped

That rid Joey of the pity, atleast for the moment, a flash of annoyance running across his face instead, expression now settling into something much more like hardened commands

"No, it's my attempt at tellin' ya' that this...... look, I'm alone with this shit, or atleast I was once 'Tem left, he took all the magic with him, or so I thought, ever since shit's been hard, an' nobody else understands it, what I'm sayin' is that **I** understand it, better than anybody else right now, atleast, so....."

"So.. what? If I need help go to you?" he huffed mockingly

"Yeah, an'.... if ya' feel alone.... ya' should come to me for that too, I know we ain't exactly freinds, an' I fuckin' hate your guts sometimes, but... like it or not, this is somethin' that ya' can't just hide under the bed or hire some high-end shrink or assistant to take care of for ya',"

"And you think I can't deal with it alone?"

"I think you'd be stupid to try, an' you're alot o' things Seto Kaiba, but stupid really ain't on of 'em,"

Without even noticing it, Seto's posture had started to relax, maybe it was the exhaustion setting in

And for a moment, they were quiet

For a moment, they were still

And then, as if accepting an invitation, Seto turned away and started walking over to the spilled trash

"If you actually want to help,you can start by getting this cleaned up,"

"Pft, ya' know I volunteered to be what I'm hesitatin' to call a _freind_ , not your fuckin' _maid_ , right?"

And yet he still walked around to the other side of the desk and started cleaning up some pappers

"I'm sorry, am I mistaken, or did you _not_ offer to help me just now?" he smirked

"You have got one twisted idea about how _freindship_ works, wich ain't really a surprise, all of you is pretty twisted,"

"Good," Seto answered flatly, uprighting the trash bin as Kujo stalked over to the window and stood on his hind legs, peering out and starting to bark, wich was even more annoying when Seto considered that this was not, in fact, actually a real dog, and was in actuality, just a bunch of shadows that Joey refused to get proper control over

In essence Joey himself was barking at the window, wich wasn't nearly as satisfying as he always thought it would be

"Stop that," he ordered flatly, looking directly at Joey the entire time, refusing to look at the "dog"

Joey only rolled his eyes, not even justifying that with a response as he stood up from where he was on the floor and walked over to the "dog"

"What's'a'amatta' boy?"

Seto rolled his eyes so hard he could swear he saw a past life

The "dog" barked again, and Joey hummed, as if- disturbingly- he could actually understand that crap

"He's still distressed about somethin'.... I'm gonna investigate, you comin'?"

"And I would do this because...?"

"Well he brought me here first, makes sense to me that whatever's goin' on probably wants both of us there,"

"Yes, because going where the crazy magic shit _wants_ us to go sounds like a great idea,"

"Look, Kujo ain't never steered me wrong before an' I've got the feelin' he ain't about to start, so are ya' comin' with us or are ya' gonna stay here in the landmine an' let your own magic go nuts again?"

He wanted to quip so _many_ comebacks over that.... but he couldn't quite bring himself to actually articulate any of them

"Fine, but I'm driving," he grumbled back, reluctantly rising to his feet and heading to the door, Joey and Kujo right behind him

Maybe if they atleast settled whatever this was, he could get some peace for the night....

~+~

Yugi's hands trembled

His chest was tight

Everything about all of this was wrong, but it was so, _so_ **right**

Taking a quick, shaking breath, he reached forward slowly, into the circle in front of him, and brushed his fingers through the soft hair of the body in front of him

The body moved, and Yugi flinched back, not sure what else to do, how else to react, when everything was so......

Whatever _this_ was

"A-....Aibou...?"

Yugi released a breath, and a few tears, and as Atem slowly sat up, pressing a hand to his head, the smaller of the two rushed forward, kissing him quickly, deeply, inhaling around him, hugging him close

The pharaoh was stunned for a moment, but he didn't waste much time in returning the kiss, gently curling his fingers through Yugi's hair, a smile on his face, gentle and sweet

"It worked..."

It was amazing, it was incredible, if Yugi had placed bets, he honestly would have bet against this ever happening, but...

"It really worked..."

"It really worked," Atem confirmed, reaching up to gently pull Yugi down, giving him a slow, gentle kiss

Sadly, it didn't last very long, the incessant buzzing of the doorbell forced them to separate and Yugi rose to his feet, his lips pursed

"Um... feel free to change into something else, I'm sure I have atleast something that will fit you,"

Atem nodded simply and started pushing himself up from the floor as Yugi dissappeared out of the room, quickly making his way down to the game shop and opening the front door, eyebrows raised

"Joey? Kaiba?"

"Hey Yug, Kujo's been goin' all crazy for like an hour now, you got any clue why he might be doin' that? Anything weird happenin' here?"

For a moment, Yugi was quiet

Because Yugi wanted Atem all to himself, just for a moment

But he knew that would be incredibly selfish of him, when they were here directly investigating anything odd... so....

He stepped aside, letting the other two in and shutting the door behind them

"Well, there's..... something..... that I need to tell you both,"

"Ok... everything alright?" Joey asked worriedly, watching with raised eyebrows as Kujo made his way towards Yugi and started sniffing him, wich was rather disconcerting to Yugi himself

"Yeah, everything is fine, actually um.... everything is _good_ , really.... _really_ good,"

He took a breath, but he didn't get the chance to say anything else, the sound of footsteps echoed through the small shop, and they all turned their heads as Atem rounded the corner, dressed in Yugi's clothes, wich were tighter on him than they would have been on his partner, but not by much

"Atem...?" Joey breathed, his eyes slightly wide as he watched the pharaoh approach them

"Hello Joey," he smiled softly, turning towards Kaiba next, but the brunette was quick, practically charging towards him as he cupped Atem's face and gave him a long, deep kiss, wich definitely stunned both Yugi and Joey

The blonde tensed, Kujo wimpering softly as Joey wrapped his hand around Yugi's, squeezing slightly

He hadn't expected much of Kaiba, really, but....

But he would have been lying if he'd said that it wasn't still hard, seeing him with someone else

"You're back," Seto said quietly, pulling away and cupping Atem's face in one hand

"I am," Atem confirmed softly, resting his hand over Seto's, their fingers curling together for a moment before he pulled back, making his way over to Joey and throwing his arms around him, giving him a tight hug, wich was eagerly reciprocated, before pulling back and smiling warmly at him

"I've missed you," he promised, giving him a light kiss as well- wich Joey clearly didn't know what to do with

"How are you back?" Seto asked bluntly

"I brought him back," Yugi replied quietly

"How?"

Yugi shifted uncomfortably, letting Atem wrap an arm around him as he stared up at Seto's shocked and somewhat betrayed expression

"Magic," he finally replied

"I.... Ryou has been teaching me magic, and..... I finally... used some,"

"Magic," Joey repeated quietly

"So that's why Kujo's been actin' weird.... he must've sensed it with you like he did with Kaiba..."

"Wait, _you_ have magic?" Yugi asked with surprise

"Yes, long story, unimportant- I thought you were against bringing him back? I thought we should 'let him rest' and all that shit, what, did you just change your mind!?"

"I asked him to," Atem piped up

"I spoke recently to the gods.... they wanted me to come back, they.... said that I still had work to do here, Mahaad put me in touch with Yugi and we spoke... I feared I was placing obligations on him by returning to his life, not to mention asking him to perform magic for me, knowing it would be with him forever, that he would never get releif from-"

"Then why didn't you come back with me!?" Seto shouted

"Out of the million times I came to you and tried to bring you back, why didn't you come back with me!?"

"Because I couldn't then-"

"But you could when the fucking gods SAID you could!?"

"YES,"

Seto took a breath, sinking back, and he looked.... _hurt_

He looked so hurt

And Atem felt terrible

"Guys..... this should be a happy occasion, let's not do this," Yugi said quietly

"Ofcourse it's a happy occasion for _you_ , he came back for _you_ ,"

"He came back because the gods-"

"I am so SICK of hearing about the gods! Do any of you ever make your own decisions!?"

Joey, unhelpfully, cleared his throat and raised his hand, wich only made Seto roll his eyes, though he didn't havei t in him to make a sarcastic comment- not at the moment

"Why are we having this argument? Atem is back, that's a good thing,"

"Because if he had come back with me to begin with I never would have had THIS develop!" Seto shouted, a zap of shadow magic appearing at his fingertips, crackling like static electricity

For a moment, things were quiet, before Joey spoke again

"So.... am I right that we all have magic?"

Seto sighed, his shoulders slumping just a bit, his expression unimpressed, as he turned to the blonde again

"Yes, late on the updates as always, but yes, we all have magic,"

"Well... what if that's it?" Joey suggested, eyebrows raised

"I mean, what if that's what caused the gods to send Atem back? Us all havin' magic? I mean... I don't really think normal people are s'posed to have magic so.... for three of us...."

"That's where your theory develops it's first hole, I'm hardly 'normal people'," Seto replied briskly

".......I'll say," Joey added back flatly, much to Seto's annoyance

"It makes sense...." Atem said slowly

"I was only told that something had recently developed that required my attention, they never said what,"

"So what's your point here?" Seto huffed irritably, arms crossing over his chest

"Well... if it hadn't been for us- includin' you, unfortunately- developin' magic.... they may not have sent him back, so in a weird way, ya' kinda _are_ responsible for helpin' him come back,"

"I don't care about that," Seto snapped

"I don't give a damn who's 'responsible'! The point is that I tried for months to get you back, I ripped apart my SOUL- theorizing that I even _have_ one- and got infected with MAGIC for you and you never came back for me! Now suddenly the _gods_ say it's ok and you're all for it!?"

"Yes because they're the _gods_ , and it's my duty as Pharaoh-"

"But you AREN'T Pharaoh anymore! Haven't you served them ENOUGH already!? You dedicated your entire LIFE to them, and most of your death too! Isn't it time you call it quits!? You deserve to be free of it and have a LIFE!"

"Maybe that's what all of this is really about," Yugi suggested quietly

"Maybe the gods are trying to make up for what they took from Atem before, to give him a life, he died so young and in service to them... maybe they're trying to make up for that, in their own way,"

"That sounds about right," Joey agreed with a nod

"That changes nothing,"

Atem, face full of sadness and lips pursed, moved closer, gently taking Seto's hands in his own

"I am sorry, I love you very much Seto, I love all three of you very much, and it broke my heart not being with you, Aaru is hardly paradise without the people I care for most, perhaps Yugi is right, perhaps this is the gods' way of trying to assist me, trying to give me the chance to have happiness, that's why I was accepted into Aaru in the first place, after all, I realize that this does little to soothe you, but.... I do care for you very deeply,"

"For _all_ of us huh?"

"Yes, is that wrong? To love multiple people?"

"Ofcourse not," Yugi promised with a smile, looping his fingers through Atem's and kissing his cheek

Somehow, Seto wasn't surprised

"So..... s'at what we are now? A bunch of polyamorous witches?" Joey asked, eyebrows raised

" _No_ ," Seto insisted, expression clearly displeased

"I refuse to be classified as a 'witch', first of all, witches are fictional-"

"Actually witchcraft is it's own religion," Yugi pointed out

Seto decided to ignore that

"-and secondly who said I was part of this?"

"Aren't you?" Atem asked, eyebrows raised, a small smirk resting on his face

Seto still didn't look pleased, but atleast he wasn't arguing anymore

Rather, his expression was more shy, face a bit red, evidently having nothing he could say to that

"Let's talk about it over food, I'm sure you're hungry Atem," Yugi noted, looking up at the pharaoh

"I'm fine, but if any of you are interested-"

"I'm ALWAYS interested in food," Joey grinned, fist-pumping the air

"Then I'll make something, I stocked the fridge in the case that I managed to bring Atem back," Yugi agreed, turning to head off, Atem at his side

"Right behind ya',"

Joey moved to follow, but paused suddenly, the sensation of a hand on his shoulder stopping him in his tracks

"I'm not going to give you some big speech or anything," Seto pointed out, looking pensive for a moment before continuing

"But.... what you did earlier....."

Seemingly at a loss for words, the brunette leaned down, giving Joey a quick, almost shy kiss on the lips, before turning on his heel and heading after the others, leaving the blonde red-faced in his wake

"Um... you're welcome...." he mumbled, biting his lip and starting to wonder when _he_ would be the one to kiss someone

He looked down at Kujo, who he _swore_ was grinning smugly up at him, before huffing and heading after the other three

Joey had never expected magic

He had never expected to have a relationship that he treasured so much

He had never expected to have a dog either

But clearly the gods liked to gift him with all of the unexpected things in the most unexpected and unusual ways

He figured, as he followed his three maybe-boyfreinds into the kitchen, with a magic shadow dog following him, maybe he was ok with that


End file.
